Sunday, January 30, 2011

Random Romance Sunday: Mike, Robbie and Chip: Steve's Wingmen

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Silhouette Special Edition #1027, Book 4 in Hometown Heartbreakers series, 1996, Out of Print

The Blurb:

MY THREE SONS

Rugged Craig Haynes came from a long line of lady-killers. Lately, though, the single dad was targeting only Jill Bradford, his sons' new nanny. Two parts sweetness, one part sin, the pint-size redhead proved a wizard with his three rambunctious boys. So what made this miracle-worker insist she was strictly hired help? Could a houseful of Haynes males ambush her wary heart...and maker her a mother and wife?

Is It In Wendy's TBR?: Not this one, although I have a couple of other categories by Mallery floating around in the TBR.

Anything Else?: Another RRS entry that I picked out because of the cover. I'm a sucker for a pretty dress as much as the next girl, but this cover model looks particularly glass-eyed imagining her wedding day. Like a grown-woman playing dress-up. I wonder if she's thinking of riding to her nuptials on the back of a pink My Little Pony?

Then there's the back cover blurb. I'm a little disconcerted that the hero, a father of three, is described as a "lady killer." I get it, he's handsome. But now I'm imagining that creepy old guy who hangs out in college bars trying to pick up nubile young coeds.

Ick.

Not that single guys (or gals) with kiddies running around the house aren't allowed to date and have a sex life....but lady killer implies bed-hopping lothario to me and....

Ick.

Ahem, anywho. Mallery has a backlist that's about 10 miles long. I know she has a slew of fans out there. Hey, when you're an author with a backlist this size fans are a given. Harlequin appears to have digitized some of her backlist, including a couple titles in this series, but alas, not this one yet.

(And since I know someone is going to ask: If you don't "get" the references I made in the title of this post, here you go. What can I say? I watched a lot of Nick At Night as a kid. Oh, and if you don't know what a "wingman" is, here you go.)

11 comments:

"So what made this miracle-worker insist she was strictly hired help?"

This sentence, combined with the "lady-killer" bit, puts me off the book. Well, that and the kids. I'm not a big fan of kids in romance novels - I've read too many where the kids are basically too-cute plot devices.

Anyway, I can't help but imagine Craig being so that no woman could possibly resist him, and all poor Jill wants is for the guy to leave her alone and let her do her job. From the sounds of things, the actual book doesn't come across that way, but that description just doesn't excite me.

I have to agree with the other posters. The description makes it sound like Craig needs a sexual harassment seminar more than he needs a date. Books about boss/employee relationships tend to give me the squicks.

@nath - Oh, that puts a different spin on things. Now I'm thinking her glassy-eyed look is due to her having been forcibly turned into a Stepford wife. But, hey, at least she wasn't murdered. Or maybe that would have been better?

I read a few of Susan Mallery's sheikh novels for Silhouette Special Edition and really enjoyed them. That cover is hilarious! 1996 doesn't seem so long ago but some of these mid to late-90s covers (like the past two RRS posts which were also from 1996) look so dated!

Library Girl: Yeah, matchmaking moppets tend to make me leery as well. If I get a whiff of that on the back cover blurb I move away pretty quickly....

Leslie: "Craig already had 5 nannies buried in his basement, but something about Jill spoke to him...." LOL!

LoriK: I'll admit it, the boss/secretary trope has worked for me in the best. I'm not proud of it....but there you go ;)

Kath: There's so oddly creepy about that cover model.....

Nath: LOLOLOLOL! Your literal reaction would certainly make for a more epic read, I'm sure!

Marie: OMG - Uncle Charley! That poor heroine!

Hannah: I hadn't noticed that the last three RRS posts were all from 1996! What a coincidence!

Harlequin changes up their covers often enought that I think it makes some of the books look "dated" before their time. The 1990s stuff, and even some of the early aughts are looking cringe-worthy to me these days....

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